January 17, 2020

Conservative Supreme Court justices prove they don't really care about free speech

( piece from yesterday)

By Lisa Needham -January 16, 2020 7:00 PM

The court's refusal to review an invasive Kentucky abortion restriction says a lot about conservative's purported support of free speech.

Last month, the United States Supreme Court refused to review a case, EMW Women's Surgical Center v. Meier, that challenged Kentucky's transvaginal ultrasound law. That means the law, one of the most invasive anti-abortion laws on the books, is now in effect. And while the law itself is repugnant, the court's failure to take it up flies in the face of their ostensible concerns about free speech.

At first glance, this doesn't look much like a free speech case. Rather, it looks like yet another extreme anti-abortion law was enacted, one that will severely restrict reproductive health choices. Doctors performing abortions in Kentucky must perform ultrasounds and describe, in detail, what they see, including the development of the organs. They also have to play sounds of what the bill calls the "fetal heartbeat," but that's misleading. At the early stage of pregnancy, there is no heart. There's simply a group of cells that are pulsing and beginning to display cardiac activity.

Even worse, the ultrasound will, in most instances, be transvaginal. That's because a transvaginal ultrasound — an incredibly invasive procedure where a person is forced to have a probe inserted into their vagina and then moved around inside — is the only way to get accurate fetal development images in the first trimester. The far less invasive transabdominal ultrasound, which does not involve penetrating the patient, is used in the second and third trimester. is the only way to get fetal images prior to 12 weeks.

People can't say no to the procedure, and doctors can't refuse to perform them. In the smallest of mercies, people are allowed to turn their head away and cover their ears, but they can't make it stop. It's all in the name of a twisted form of "informed consent." Informed consent is a sound medical idea. The American Medical Association defines it as patients having "the right to receive information and ask questions about recommended treatments so they can make well-considered decisions." The AMA goes on to say that "successful communication in the patient-physician relationship fosters trust and supports shared decision making."

https://americanindependent.com/supreme-court-kentucky-abortion-restriction-free-speech-emw-womens-surgical-center-v-meier/


-snip-

This isn't the only case where this ultra-conservative court has expressed consternation about speech far more minimal than what is now required of Kentucky doctors and their patients. In Janus v. AFSCME, also decided in 2018, the conservative majority held that public-sector unions run afoul of the First Amendment if they charge a "fair share" fee to non-union members.

Unions negotiate on behalf of all employees, and prior to Janus, people who opted out of union membership still had to pay a fee to cover that. They weren't required to pay the portion of membership that dealt with union lobbying, precisely so none of their money went to political stances a union might take. However, the Court decided that the mere act of having to pay any money to a union compelled Janus to engage in speech to which he was opposed.

Put another way, the court was willing to say that paying money to a union to negotiate working conditions when you opposed the union's political speech — which you were not paying for — was compelled speech.



I am really tired of courts double standard, its either the conservative way of the highway...................

January 17, 2020

GOP senator attacks government watchdog for doing its job

(this piece is from yesterday)

By Dan Desai Martin -January 16, 2020 6:00 PM

The GAO is responsible for determining whether administration officials have broken the law.

Republican senators criticized a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Thursday which concluded the Trump administration broke the law by withholding military aid to Ukraine.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) went so far as to attack the employees of the GAO for doing their job.

"I don't think they [the GAO] should be deciding who broke the law," Shelby told Politico.

Part of GAO's responsibility is to determine if administration officials broke the law.

https://americanindependent.com/richard-shelby-gao-donald-trump-ukraine-impeachment-senate-gop-alabama/

I don't know about you asshole ( Shelby) but since it is "my" tax dollars that are being spent, and your party has a traitor that is breaking the law by extorting and bribing countries, I am quite happy that I, a taxpayer has a agency in whats left in my government overseeing and making sure that things are done right, maybe you and your other fucking cronies is this piece should resign, since you all don't like doing your job ............................because I would really like to know if you took any foreign money, that has been handed out..............................


November 3, 2020 cannot get here fast enough...................

January 16, 2020

GOP leader: It was 'rightful' for Trump administration to break the law

By Dan Desai Martin -January 16, 2020 2:37 PM

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy defended the Trump administration after a GAO investigation found it broke the law.

During a Thursday press conference, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy attempted to brush aside a GAO investigation that found the Trump administration broke the law by withholding military aid from Ukraine.

"I think it was the rightful thing to do," McCarthy said hours after the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office released a report calling those actions illegal.

McCarthy repeated Trump administration talking points defending holding back the aid out of concerns for corruption, a concern that was debunked by the GAO report itself.

The GAO concluded the Trump administration's hold on Ukrainian military aid violated the Impoundment Control Act.

https://americanindependent.com/kevin-mccarthy-donald-trump-ukraine-gao-investigation-military-aid-house-gop-impeachment/

No asshole is not alright to try and normalize your traitors criminal behavior.....................and to think asshole you are in Congress supposedly defending the "rule of law and laws that were passed to protect the country from this kinda of shit............your a disgrace to put it mildly ........

November 3, 2020 cannot get here fast enough..........................

January 16, 2020

GOP senators take oath to be 'impartial' after stating they would do the opposite

By Emily Singer -January 16, 2020 3:36 PM

Sens. Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham swore an oath of impartiality on Thursday, despite previously saying they do not plan to be impartial at all.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts officially swore in senators on Thursday for the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, asking all senators to take an oath of impartiality.

"Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, president of the United States, now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you God?" reads the oath 99 senators swore, signing their name in a book to make their oath official. One senator was missing from the swearing in: Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe, who was in his home state tending to a sick family member.

By taking that oath, however, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham committed perjury, as both previously said aloud that they do not plan to be impartial at all.

"I'm not an impartial juror," McConnell declared in December. "This is a political process. There is not anything judicial about it. Impeachment is a political decision."

https://americanindependent.com/gop-senators-perjury-impeachment-trial-oath-donald-trump-john-roberts-ukraine/

Lets add McSalley, Collins, Rubio and Cruz................................

Perjury.................is still Perjury.......................

January 16, 2020

Susan Collins caught lying about donations from opioid industry

By Josh Israel -January 16, 2020 4:40 PM

The Maine senator falsely claimed she had never taken money from members of the Sackler family, which owns the company that produces OxyContin.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) claimed earlier this month that she had never taken money from the Sackler family, which owns the pharmaceutical company that produces the opioid pain medication OxyContin.

Collins campaign finance records, however, show that she did.

In a video encounter, posted Thursday by the Maine Beacon, Collins was urged by a constituent to return contributions from Eli Lilly and other pharmaceutical companies that make affordable products.

Collins responded by noting that federal officials cannot accept money directly from corporations (though she has received tens of thousands from pharma companies' official political action committees).

https://americanindependent.com/susan-collins-lying-donations-opioid-industry-sackler-family-oxycontin-maine-senate-2020-election/

And she is going to sit in on a impeachment trial.........................

January 16, 2020

Susan Collins caught lying about donations from opioid industry

Lets all remember today 1/16/220 that she swore by raising her right hand and took an oath that she will be impartial in the Impeachment trial..........................

If you believe that I got a bridge..........................she wouldn't tell the truth if she wanted to...................

January 16, 2020

Trump silent as Puerto Rico slammed by over 2 dozen earthquakes

By Dan Desai Martin -January 15, 2020 3:01 PM

Trump has made time to rail against impeachment and complain about water pressure, but has refused to speak out personally in support of the island's residents.

Donald Trump has maintained a rigid silence in the days since a massive 6.4 magnitude earthquake rippled across Puerto Rico on Jan. 7.

In a departure from his typical frenzied social media activity, Trump has not tweeted once to offer support nor give encouragement to the island's residents, who are still working to recover following a series of natural disasters.

Since Dec. 28, Puerto Rico has been hit with more than two dozen magnitude 4.5 or higher earthquakes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The most powerful quakes occurred on Jan. 7, followed four days later by a magnitude 5.9 aftershock that resulted in additional damage to the island territory.

According to the Associated Press, the quakes have caused one death, nine injuries, an estimated $110 million in damages, and left hundreds of people homeless.

https://americanindependent.com/donald-trump-puerto-rico-earthquakes-white-house-silence/

But this POS can come out and say this................

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212874601

January 16, 2020

Trump says Puerto Rico has to pay workers less than $15 an hour if it wants disaster aid

By Dan Desai Martin -January 15, 2020 6:00 PM

The Trump administration is withholding $8 billion in disaster aid until Puerto Rico agrees to certain conditions, including paying workers less.

The Trump administration is strong-arming the local Puerto Rican government to pay federal contractors less than $15 an hour if the island territory wants to receive more than $8 billion of federal aid, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. The demand goes against a 2018 executive order signed by Puerto Rico's governor requiring construction industry employees to be paid at least $15 an hour for government contracting.

The Trump administration is attaching additional strings to the disaster mitigation aid, which it has held up for months despite congressional approval of the funding. Puerto Rico's government must also agree to new systems to track property deeds, additional authority for the federally mandated Fiscal Control Board, and a mandate that none of the funds will go toward the island's fragile electrical grid, according to what officials told the Post.

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, told the Post that the multiple requirements for aid is "a painful delaying tactic."

Puerto Rico has borne the brunt of a series of natural disasters in the Trump era. In 2017, the island territory was battered by hurricanes, including the devastating Hurricane Maria.

https://americanindependent.com/donald-trump-administration-puerto-rico-federal-disaster-aid-recovery-hourly-wage/

What total complete sick POS.........................

January 16, 2020

154 House Republicans oppose bill to protect older Americans from discrimination

By Josh Israel -January 15, 2020 5:30 PM

The Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act restores workers' ability to file lawsuits against their employers.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill, 261-155, to protect older Americans from job discrimination.

All Democrats present and 34 Republicans voted yes.

154 Republicans and one Independent, Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, opposed the bipartisan measure, arguing that it might instead help discrimination-law attorneys.

Since the implementation of the 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act, most workers over the age of 40 have been protected against employment discrimination solely on the basis of age. But a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in 2009 held that older Americans must prove that age discrimination was the sole motivating factor, not just a significant consideration, in order to sue under the law.

https://americanindependent.com/house-republicans-protecting-older-workers-against-discrimination-act-gop-congress/

And if anyone in the state of North Carolina thinks that this congresswoman Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx (NC) loves your parents.........................she does not.......................

November 3, 2020 cannot get here fast enough........................

January 16, 2020

Senate Republicans admit they won't be fair in impeachment trial

By Josh Israel -January 15, 2020 4:30 PM

'The president is not going to be removed from office – period,' Sen. Jim Inhofe tweeted on Wednesday.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday morning voted to appoint managers to prosecute the impeachment trial of Donald Trump and prepared to send the two articles against him, one for abuse of power and another for obstruction of Congress, to the Senate.

Within hours, several Republican senators had made it clear they had no intention to giving those articles a fair hearing.

The House impeached Trump in December, alleging he had abused his office when he pushed Ukraine to investigate his political rivals and impeded congressional efforts to investigate those actions. Those articles will now be passed along to the Senate where members, who effectively act as jurors, will be asked to weigh the charges and decide whether to remove Trump from office.

At the start of an impeachment trial, each senator takes an oath in which they "solemnly swear" to "do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws."

https://americanindependent.com/senate-gop-impeachment-trial-donald-trump-oath-impartial-justice-mitch-mcconnell-republicans/

Hey Oklahoma, got a question for you folks, did your senator ever read the Constitution, or did he read the Koch operation manual.................he is embarrassment................